Notable Financial Companies

Canada has a deep financial heritage rooted further back than even our own date of confederation. Many of the most dominant figures today have been dominant as far back as the mid 1800s, before Canada was even a nation. Canada Life, for example, became the first chartered domestic life insurance company in 1847.

Especially in the east, many Canadian life insurance companies, mutual funds, and credit unions began as an outgrowth of fraternal benefit societies—groups of individuals, families and neighbors that gave a helping hand when needed to members of their society. Their origins playing a fundamental role in their organization, many of these companies have operated as mutuals. In the last ten years however, the industry has been seeing a trend towards demutualization and consolidation.

Until the mid 90's, the number of life insurance companies operating in Canada grew. In 1993, there were as many as 148 life insurance companies. Many of these companies offered very specific, tailored products and services. But since the mid 90's, as a result of consolidations, the number of insurance companies has decreased to nearly 100. Many providers like L'Excellence, Clarica and Northwest Life have joined larger companies and are still offering their unique products and services, only under different names and with wider reaches than ever before.

List of financial companies in Canada

The following is a list of most major financial companies operating in Canada. Many of these companies are competing for your business and a full range of products, from banking to term life insurance, permanent whole life and universal life insurance, segregated funds for investment and financial advisors. There are lots of these companies to choose from.

Click any of them to visit their biography page and find more information about their histories and to compare the products and services that they provide.

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